Rodrigo Riquelme: I feel it's the best period since I'm here

That saying is certainly true of Spaniard Rodrigo Riquelme.

The Madrid-born talent took the plunge last year of leaving his home country to play football abroad for the first time, eventually signing on a season-long loan deal with Cherries at the start of October.

The 20-year-old has been an Atletico Madrid player since he was 10 years old and remains a big fan of the La Liga table-toppers.

“I support their every game. I watch their every game,” Riquelme told the Daily Echo.

“I think they are going to win (the league), one hundred per cent.”

However, rather than doubling up as both a fan and member of the first-team squad, as he was last season, Riquelme now watches on from more than 700 miles away on the English south coast as he looks to expand his footballing horizons.

It was certainly quite a culture shock when the diminutive winger first set foot into the Championship.

Having been introduced for five brief cameo appearances off the bench, during which time he netted his first goal for the club to rescue a 1-1 draw with Derby County, Riquelme was handed his first start in English football.

The Spaniard began a home clash against Preston North End on December 1 but, by his own admission, he “failed” to cope with the Championship intensity.

Riquelme was withdrawn at half-time with Cherries a goal down, a game they eventually lost 3-2.

“It’s hard. Physically it’s very hard,” said Riquelme when discussing the challenge of the Championship.

“I failed in the first time that I was here. But now I think that I am accustomed to this league.”

Despite feeling ready, the talented youngster is still yet to start another Championship match since that game against Preston.

However, he has finally begun to make his mark again. Riquelme came off the bench during Jason Tindall’s last game in charge, a defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on February 2.

He would not feature again until March 16, stuck as an unused substitute on eight occasions before new boss Jonathan Woodgate finally turned to him when Junior Stanislas was forced off injured against Swansea.

Riquelme impressed in his 50-minute showing, earning a start against Southampton a few days later in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Discussing his performances in those two outings, Riquelme said: “Personally I felt very good, honestly. I was prepared every time.

“I train at my best, I train to be ready every time. This is football. Sometimes you don’t play, but you have to be ready if the gaffer gives you the opportunity, you have to answer.

“I felt comfortable (against Southampton).

“I want to play every game and start. I think if you ask every player, we enjoy it when we are on the pitch. Sometimes you start, sometimes you are on the bench, sometimes you don’t play. We have to be ready for the opportunities.

“It’s difficult (waiting), but I’m very strong mentally, I have a good mentality, so I always try to be prepared. The gaffer gave me the opportunity and I think that I have answered very good.”

Riquelme was only four years old when Woodgate signed for Real Madrid, more than a decade ago. Speaking earlier this month, the Cherries boss explained how he had been brushing up on the Spanish he learnt during his two years abroad to converse with the Atletico Madrid loanee.

“He speaks with me in Spanish,” said Riquelme.

“I said to him ‘woah, you speak very good Spanish!’

“I didn’t see him play football, but for example my father told me that he played in Real Madrid and Tottenham as well. So he was a good player.

“He’s a good man. I think that he has the things clear. He wants to win and he shows it to us in every training session. He’s a good gaffer.”

Riquelme moved over to England with his family from Spain.

So how has it been adapting to life in a new country, especially during multiple national lockdowns?

“We are enjoying ‘doing’ a lot of things. We try to walk a little bit at the beach, to visit the town, but everything is closed,” he says.

“So it’s difficult. We have to make home life. But the most important thing is we are good ourselves.

“In the winter I felt very, very cold. But in Madrid it’s very cold in the winter as well. When we played away, I felt it more! But here in Bournemouth the weather is nice.”

Some lockdown restrictions have this week been lifted in England, meaning many outdoor sports are allowed again.

“My father is crazy now with the golf! He wants to play every time,” explains Riquelme.

“He says ‘Roro, come on, let’s go play golf!’. And I say, no dad not now, I do not want to play golf! But sometimes I will go with him, so I have to practice!”

One thing still very much on the agenda are trips to the gym – after an afternoon nap at least.

Riquelme said: “Now I feel very good, as a normal player here. I work every day in the afternoons, when I wake up from the siesta, the Spanish siesta!

“I wake up, I have some fruits and I come to the gym to work on my uppers and lowers to improve my physique, to become more accustomed here and to feel better.

“Now I feel it is the best period since I am here, the best time. I feel comfortable now.”